The 1873 Pest rail accident occurred on 6 May 1873 in Zugló, at the outskirts of Pest, Budapest, on the Budapest-Szolnok railway line built by . A train carrying mostly Slovene railway workers was mistakenly diverted to a section of the track under reconstruction work, which caused its derailment and the fall of carriages over the embankment. The event left 26 people dead and about 50 injured. It is recorded as one of the first major rail accidents in the history of rail transport in Hungary.
Accident
Late on the morning of Tuesday, 6 May 1873, a freight train no. 136 of the Hungarian State Railway, coming from Szeged to Budapest, approached the Kőbánya station area, southeast of Pest. The train, powered by the Ménes steam locomotive, was carrying about 140 railway labourers from Carniola, mostly of Slovene origin, and also a few Italians. It also contained some freight wagons, including carriages loaded with sheep. On its approach, the train was not warned of the construction area, and local station operators led the train to a dead-end unfinished railway track. At City Park (Városliget) near the , about 1–2 km from the future Nyugati station, the train went off the tracks and fell down the railway embankment. Falling from about 10–20 meters high, the locomotive dug deep into the ground below, taking six wagons with it. The steam engine boiler burst.
Aftermath
The scene was reached after some time by people willing to help. As the first state official to investigate, state judge Dr. Thaiss reached the site; a vicar named Halak provided the last blessings. Also, about 40 sheep were killed due to the crash. The final toll of the event was 26 dead and about 50 injured.
During the investigation, a station attendant named Biedermann was arrested at Kőbánya station on suspicion of not informing the driver. After his arrest, he attempted suicide several times but was prevented from doing so. Additionally, the Kőbánya stationmaster, the chief construction manager of the reconstruction works, and two railway officials were also reportedly arrested.
The size of the event caught the attention of multiple non-Hungarian periodicals all around Austro-Hungarian Empire, including the Czech Národní listy, Austrian Illustrirtes Wiener Extrablatt and the Slovenian Slovanski Narod. The liability of railway companies for damages was regulated by two railway regulation acts of 1874, the year after the accident, dealing with "liability for death or personal injury caused by railways".
See also History of Budapest Budapest–Szolnok–Debrecen–Nyíregyháza–Záhony railway
Citations